Fifty Plus (50+) - 40mph?

How in the heck?!

that's a lot of watts, ain't it?

They are young and very very strong.

that's a lot of watts, ain't it?

They are young and very very strong.

+1
Their weight to strength ratio, lung capacity and overall engine puts them in a class not many can ever achieve. I was impressed when I learned that the average cycling enthusiast might cycle 100 to 200 miles a week, but those in the pro peloton are kicking it at 700 to 900 miles a week. It is also my understanding that with that level of training recovery is critical. Hence two hours of sleep for every hour in the saddle is the minimum these people need. Just awesome riders.

I wish the TV coverage would elaborate more on these athletes abilities and the range of abilities from the average cyclist all the way up to these guys. also amazing is that they can keep this up for 3 weeks!

will a woman ever participate in this event?

Yes, but they're smiling at the camera and still going 40.

Technically I should be able to do 40+ mph based on my 5" peak power watts of 1,258. However I have only been able to generate that while power sprinting up steep short hills or at the beginning of a sprint while getting up to speed. Now if I could just follow a wheel @ 36 - 37 mph then "go around" and hit my sprint perfectly ...:rolleyes: Man I wish it could work out that way, if only just once.:D

I wish the TV coverage would elaborate more on these athletes abilities and the range of abilities from the average cyclist all the way up to these guys. also amazing is that they can keep this up for 3 weeks!

+1 Its amazing what they are able to do.

40 mph is easy- Find the hill and take a run at it----By the time you reach the bottom- 40mph.

And if you think that is fast--Compare their average speed for the 190Kms in comparison to your highest speed on a flat ride.

I have hit 38 mph a couple of times on the flats with a draft. I was starting to spin out in my 53/13. If you have enough strong young riders, you can go really, really fast.

About the fastest I can pull myself is 30 and that isn't for very long :)

I do it all the time. But, then I wake up. And it still hurts.

Technically I should be able to do 40+ mph based on my 5" peak power watts of 1,258. However I have only been able to generate that while power sprinting up steep short hills or at the beginning of a sprint while getting up to speed. Now if I could just follow a wheel @ 36 - 37 mph then "go around" and hit my sprint perfectly ...:rolleyes: Man I wish it could work out that way, if only just once.:D

Hey 'Jet... Carpediemracing, a sprinter who is 'BF active', (sort of like being HIV positive, I sometimes think) and has a nice blog with videos, trains using a hill to provide the leadout. Use the hill to get up to speed, then kick when you transition onto the flat. I bet your 5" power will get you over 40. He also says his bursts to gain speed are typically just a few pedal strokes - you need to be able to instantly apply that 1,200+ watts of power. His FTP is really low, but he wins a lot of races applying his 1,250 watts at just the right time.

I intend to greatly increase my 5" power for next year.

... Now if I could just follow a wheel @ 36 - 37 mph then "go around" and hit my sprint perfectly ...:rolleyes: Man I wish it could work out that way, if only just once.:D

It's time to buy Mrs AlleJet a Vespa and teach her how to ride @ 37 mph... :D

Hey 'Jet... Carpediemracing, a sprinter who is 'BF active', (sort of like being HIV positive, I sometimes think) and has a nice blog with videos, trains using a hill to provide the leadout. Use the hill to get up to speed, then kick when you transition onto the flat. I bet your 5" power will get you over 40. He also says his bursts to gain speed are typically just a few pedal strokes - you need to be able to instantly apply that 1,200+ watts of power. His FTP is really low, but he wins a lot of races applying his 1,250 watts at just the right time.

I intend to greatly increase my 5" power for next year.

It is something I need to work on but don't include any of the really high power stuff in my training other than nailing short steep hills. In yesterday's road race at 450 meters to go there was a sharp left, a slight incline with a RR crossing then a sharp right with 350 meters to the finish. I was sitting 2nd wheel before the first turn and attacked out of the turn. On the short straight between turns I went OTS and hit 1,090 for a 5” PP then out the final turn I hit 950 watts for a 5" PP while OTS and peaked @ 30.9 mph. I looked back once seated and the others were just finishing the turn so I just rode in the last 200 meters and never really sprinted.

It's time to buy Mrs AlleJet a Vespa and teach her how to ride @ 37 mph... :D

After our recent picture taking episode, when I needed a good image of my TT position while riding, I don't think that is a good idea.:innocent:

I looked back once seated and the others were just finishing the turn so I just rode in the last 200 meters and never really sprinted.

Did you notice a "my soul was just crushed" look on their faces?

You guys are awesome!

Hi bigbadwullf,

40 MPH under which conditions? Max sprint speed? Lead-out speed for a sprint? Going downhill? You get my drift. ;)

The most impressive 70 KPH speedometer reading (about 43 MPH) that I've seen so far in this year's TdF was during the team time trial (TTT). It was probably slightly downhill with a tailwind but from the camera shot of the last rider just before the speedometer reading, the rider was in his highest gear and was not spun out. :eek:

The TTT is one of my personal, favorite races. I don't get to do a TTT more than once or twice each year but for me they are generally very satisfying and fun. I did our district championship TTT about a month ago and we were able to average 26.5 MPH for 23 miles. We averaged a little over 30 MPH for the tailwind straight that was slightly uphill (big tailwind :) ).

I hit 40 MPH with some regularity but all cases involve going downhill. :D My max sprint speed is 34-36 MPH with a good lead out and a tailwind. :D :D

My max sprint speed is 34-36 MPH with a good lead out and a tailwind. :D :D

Aren't leadouts about the most fun thing in cycling? A friend led me out during a group ride on a slight decline - what a blast!

So tell me, is hitting 40 with a leadout an attainable goal for a 55+ racer? I want to get there, but I'm not sure whether it's attainable or not. I intend to give it a shot. I should calculate the watts requirement.

My hats off to you guys that are over 55, racing and still obtaining those speeds. I don't know where you find the time to do all that training because the articles that I have read about the pro circuit riders is that this is their job and they train daily for pretty much of the day. I feel really great when I am on something like a charity ride and I constantly pass younger riders on more expensive, lighter weight bikes. I can't imagine how you guys feel when you do the same and there is more at stake than just finishing the ride.

+1
Their weight to strength ratio, lung capacity and overall engine puts them in a class not many can ever achieve. I was impressed when I learned that the average cycling enthusiast might cycle 100 to 200 miles a week, but those in the pro peloton are kicking it at 700 to 900 miles a week. It is also my understanding that with that level of training recovery is critical. Hence two hours of sleep for every hour in the saddle is the minimum these people need. Just awesome riders.
And commitment few of us will ever achieve. Not only are they supremely tuned athletes - but they didn't get that way overnight. The majority of them have been working up to it for many years.
800 miles a week? Holy crap!

On a ride last week, I'd been pulling at 24 for a bit over 2 miles when one of the guys sling-shotted past me for the final sign sprint. That's OK, I was leading them out on purpose, but I expected several guys to go for it. Since there was just one, I decided it was up to me to give him a challenge. He was doing 34 mph when I coasted up alongside him, made a show of hitting the brakes, and asked him if he had any Grey Poupon. He lost the sprint. They hate it when I do that! :) I don't think I quite hit 40, though. I'll never know for sure because my speedo wasn't working. I just know my 53/12 was red lined.

Holding 40 mph, even in a group, is very impressive. Maybe they're running 56T or 58T chainrings?

On a ride last week, I'd been pulling at 24 for a bit over 2 miles when one of the guys sling-shotted past me for the final sign sprint. That's OK, I was leading them out on purpose, but I expected several guys to go for it. Since there was just one, I decided it was up to me to give him a challenge. He was doing 34 mph when I coasted up alongside him, made a show of hitting the brakes, and asked him if he had any Grey Poupon. He lost the sprint. They hate it when I do that! :) I don't think I quite hit 40, though. I'll never know for sure because my speedo wasn't working. I just know my 53/12 was red lined.

Holding 40 mph, even in a group, is very impressive. Maybe they're running 56T or 58T chainrings?

Impressive. But if your speedometer wasn't working, how exactly do you know you were pulling at 24 and that he was doing 34 when you pulled up to him? Just asking.

How in the heck?!

More than ever I am convinced that there are aliens living among us. (And I do not mean illegal immigrants).

Holding 40 mph, even in a group, is very impressive. Maybe they're running 56T or 58T chainrings?

Most of them run 53... there may be a few larger rings - not sure.

The fastest I've ever gone on the flat was in a US Masters National Track Championship sprint many years ago. I was sprinting against Butch Stinton, one of the top masters racers in the US. I forget who initiated the sprint, but I was able to get on his wheel, but I was not able to come around him because when I looked down at the computer, it read 66 kmh (about 41.5 mph) as we sped around the last banking. Note that this was on an outdoor velodrome, so it was dead flat and you're hitting the wind at some point on the track, so there's nothing artificial, no downhills except when you come off the banking to start the sprint. When I was at my peak, I could hit just over 60 kmh in a flying 200m, but that was about it. Lately I have trouble just getting near 60 kmh.

Just to put this into perspective, a winning time for a 4000-meter team pursuit in international competition is about 4 minutes. This is from a standing start, and it takes about four seconds to get up to speed. This means that the team has to be averaging just over 60 kmh for about two and a half miles. On a 250-meter track, each rider will do a one-lap pull, so every fourth lap you are pretty much sprinting flat out, and then swinging up and resting for three laps at over 60 kmh. And while you're going cross-eyed trying to hang on, you have to keep that front wheel about three inches behind the wheel in front. This is why trackies are the best cyclists around.

L.

I should calculate the watts requirement.

Try using this. I've found it fairly accurate except it doesn't take humidity into account.

http://bikecalculator.com/veloUS.html

The speedometer readings they have been showing from the motorcycles following the peloton during the TdF the past couple of days are amazing. They showed them at 80K briefly while Dave Zabriskie was up front reeling in the breakaway. It's no wonder breakaways so seldom succeed.

Impressive. But if your speedometer wasn't working, how exactly do you know you were pulling at 24 and that he was doing 34 when you pulled up to him? Just asking.

Well, HE had a speedometer, and in spite of my mistreatment of his ego, we're still on speaking terms. When I pulled alongside, the first thing he did was look at his speedo. Twice. :innocent:

Try using this. I've found it fairly accurate except it doesn't take humidity into account.

http://bikecalculator.com/veloUS.html

Looks like about 1,100 watts, which just so happens to be my 5' goal for next season.

Looks like about 1,100 watts, which just so happens to be my 5' goal for next season.

If you can hold 1100 watts for 5 min just go directly to the Tour! lol

After my hilly ride(OK, mountain ride from hell in Western Md.), I came back home and now hills I thought were a little tough are nothing at all. Yesterday I decided to accelerate up a moderate grade and crested the hill at 21 mph. It kinda shocked me, seeing as though a few months ago I had trouble hitting 25 on the flats.
I am amazed at what a human is capable of, especially elite riders(not me) and moreover how you can improve over the miles. Last fall I got back into riding and BARELY made 5 miles. Now 15 miles feels like a warm up. I am having trouble cracking the 35-mile mark however. I've ridden 5 straight days this week, something I thought was crazy just a month ago. I've done 83 miles this week.
Hope this doesn't sound like bragging. But I am amazed at what happens along the way as you ride. To those just starting..... it will come. Just stick with it. We have new riders joining our little group and I try like crazy not to push them too hard for fear of them losing interest. I know what it feels like looking at others and saying "how in the heck"?!

If you can hold 1100 watts for 5 min just go directly to the Tour! lol

Wups... typo there... I meant ", not '. Goal is to average 1,100 for 5 seconds.

Hope this doesn't sound like bragging. But I am amazed at what happens along the way as you ride. To those just starting..... it will come. Just stick with it. We have new riders joining our little group and I try like crazy not to push them too hard for fear of them losing interest. I know what it feels like looking at others and saying "how in the heck"?!

Not bragging- but you are a model of what can be done--If you keep at it.

Pity you are in the 50+ because at the rate you have improved- you could have been in the TDF within 10 years.

The fastest I've ever gone on the flat was in a US Masters National Track Championship sprint many years ago. I was sprinting against Butch Stinton, one of the top masters racers in the US. I forget who initiated the sprint, but I was able to get on his wheel, but I was not able to come around him because when I looked down at the computer, it read 66 kmh (about 41.5 mph) as we sped around the last banking. Note that this was on an outdoor velodrome, so it was dead flat and you're hitting the wind at some point on the track, so there's nothing artificial, no downhills except when you come off the banking to start the sprint. When I was at my peak, I could hit just over 60 kmh in a flying 200m, but that was about it. Lately I have trouble just getting near 60 kmh.

Just to put this into perspective, a winning time for a 4000-meter team pursuit in international competition is about 4 minutes. This is from a standing start, and it takes about four seconds to get up to speed. This means that the team has to be averaging just over 60 kmh for about two and a half miles. On a 250-meter track, each rider will do a one-lap pull, so every fourth lap you are pretty much sprinting flat out, and then swinging up and resting for three laps at over 60 kmh. And while you're going cross-eyed trying to hang on, you have to keep that front wheel about three inches behind the wheel in front. This is why trackies are the best cyclists around.

L.

I could not agree more.:D

Here is a video of the fastest team pursuit qualification. The venue is Manchester 250 track in the UK. I timed the laps and the starting lap was 20.7 seconds and the typical lap time was 14.5 seconds or about 38.4 mph. The Aussies collected data from the Olympics using SRMs. Typically, the lead racer is at 600 watts and the others around 450 watts in an elite championship team pursuit.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCPfxsbp8Ig

Slightly OT, but it's not just the burst speeds that make these TdF racers so unbelievable - it's the combination of the miles and the climbing and the speed. For example, yesterday's stage 4 was not considered a mountain stage, but it was still basically a century with 7000 feet of climbing. See

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/97233976

Slightly OT, but it's not just the burst speeds that make these TdF racers so unbelievable - it's the combination of the miles and the climbing and the speed. For example, yesterday's stage 4 was not considered a mountain stage, but it was still basically a century with 7000 feet of climbing. See

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/97233976

40 mph is not that difficult but it is a totally different level of racer who can do it with 100 miles in the legs day after day in a Grand Tour against the best cyclists in the world.

I hit 44 mph going down a mountain in North Georgia on BRAG a couple of years ago. Never again. I was only 59 and too stupid to know better.

I hit 44 mph going down a mountain in North Georgia on BRAG a couple of years ago. Never again. I was only 59 and too stupid to know better.

Was that heading down from Unicoi Gap going toward Helen on the first day of BRAG 2009?

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3642/3625564824_a8fd968b76.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bluesdawg/3625564824/)
Unicoi Gap -1 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bluesdawg/3625564824/) by BluesDawg (http://www.flickr.com/people/bluesdawg/), on Flickr

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2228/3625565348_ff57ed3c34.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bluesdawg/3625565348/)
Unicoi Gap -2 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bluesdawg/3625565348/) by BluesDawg (http://www.flickr.com/people/bluesdawg/), on Flickr

Another thing that everyone is forgetting is just how scary it is to go this speed on a skinny wheel. Last weekend i was going down a wicked hill (the only way I can even dream of getting up to this speed!) and found myself braking. At the bottom, I checked my computer and i had hit a max of only 37!!!
Imagine sustaingin 42 in a pack!

I did this a few weeks ago while riding in Western PA. At the steepest part of the hill I spun out my 53/12 trying to ride my age in a different manner. Failed by 3.5 mph.:cry:

http://i489.photobucket.com/albums/rr256/sru75/IMG_2581-1.jpg

I did this a few weeks ago while riding in Western PA. At the steepest part of the hill I spun out my 53/12 trying to ride my age in a different manner. Failed by 3.5 mph.:cry:

http://i489.photobucket.com/albums/rr256/sru75/IMG_2581-1.jpg

I get readings like that and even faster sometimes - when I forget to turn off my Garmin before getting in the car to drive home....

I live in the flatlands of south Alabama where the only large hills are made by fire ants. Where there are creek bottoms, the land dips down (then back up, of course) and this is where I managed to achieve 37 MPH. The only way I see me hitting 40 MPH is when hurricane season gets in full swing, then look out! :p

+1
Their weight to strength ratio, lung capacity and overall engine puts them in a class not many can ever achieve. I was impressed when I learned that the average cycling enthusiast might cycle 100 to 200 miles a week, but those in the pro peloton are kicking it at 700 to 900 miles a week. It is also my understanding that with that level of training recovery is critical. Hence two hours of sleep for every hour in the saddle is the minimum these people need. Just awesome riders.



I'd love to see what a typical day is for them...eating, training, sleeping schedule. If anyone knows of a show/documentary on it please pass it along.

I'd love to see what a typical day is for them...eating, training, sleeping schedule. If anyone knows of a show/documentary on it please pass it along.

Don't know about training schedules, but the Garmin Connect logs of some of their actual TdF stages are kind of amazing. Here's an example from Stage 6 showing almost 300 Watts AVERAGE output over 4.5 hours

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/97548011

I'd love to see what a typical day is for them...eating, training, sleeping schedule. If anyone knows of a show/documentary on it please pass it along.

Here is a Google TechTalk, given for bike to work day at Google, by an ex U.S. Postal rider: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVcKzzB-eF0

Here is a Google TechTalk, given for bike to work day at Google, by an ex U.S. Postal rider: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVcKzzB-eF0

AzT, that is a great video!

BMW motorcycle speedometers are notoriously optomistic. So lop 10-12% off what the TdF motos are showing to get the real speed. Take 25% off whatever Paul says- his error is even higher.

Then you need to know which way the wind is blowing, and if the riders are going downhill. The riders often average 25-26 mph for a stage, so a mild 10mph tail wind will make 35 mph pretty easy for them. There's been some days with really good tailwinds. It's harder to judge gradient in pictures. A mild descent (down a "false flat") that would be obvious in person is difficult to see on film.

My wife and I have moved to riding our tandem almost to the exclusion of our single bikes. Neither of us are nearly as strong as some posting here but we routinely get to 30+ on some fairly small hills here in North Texas. Our record top speed is about 40 mph on the tandem. On our singles we need a really big hill for that. I find that once over 30 on the downhill we can go just as fast putting our nose on the bars, pedals level and knees next to the top tube. After all we have to struggle up the next hill! Search the tandem forum for some real 50+ old speedsters. We are not that fast.

you all are beast!!! I think the fastest I have gone on the flats is 29mph. I have a compact 50t and an old Klein q carbon.